Pixies - overhyped or overlooked?

[MKS]

I'm experiencing a little Pixies revival on my PC... I've dug out their albums and am listening to a "best of..." playlist that I put together. I've been inspired by a work colleague who went to see them last weekend and said they were excellent. I've also recently got the Pixies DVD which is cool.

So, the big question: Are the Pixies really great, or is it just me? With all the "punk" and "goth" bands knocking about at the minute, shouldn't the Pixies be getting a bit more listening / air time?

What's on your Pixies "Best of..." list?

[Mon Rominee]

They were really great at times. very inspired sloppy goodness.

Surfer Rosa is one of my fave albums of all time. Same with Doolittle and Trompe le Monde especially. THAT record is a friggin masterwork for the genre. So good, start to finish. So criminally overlooked.

Odd, eclectic, frenzied pop goodness. With the kind of dymentia only Black Francis could sprinkle over it.

Yup.

[Josh Ryan]

Not overhyped, but also not overlooked IMO. the Pixies are damn near a household name. Hold on a second....




..... yep, even my mom knows who they are.

[MKS]

Originally Posted by Blisshead

....yep, even my mom knows who they are.

Your mom is so cool...

[Josh Ryan]

Originally Posted by MKS

Your mom is so cool...

she was annoyed that that was the only reason I called her at work this AM.

[dancehallclasher]

Originally Posted by Blisshead

..... yep, even my mom knows who they are.

mine too, but that's just because i rave about them.

they're so important to innovative rock bands. the perfect mix of oddball weirdness and strong catchiness. someone, i forget who, said "the pixies invented the colors and we just paint with 'em."

[lawndart]

my mom dosent.....then again she doesnt even own a computer or know how to program a VCR.

The Pixies i think are a bit underrated. I just think they are a bit old for the type of music thats played on mainstream rock radios. In the NYC area on 92.3 Krock all they play is crappy stuff thats current. No Social Distortion or Descendents/ALL, ya know bands that have major impact on music of today.

[Against Will]

I think the Pixies have just the right amount of notoriety, they were never so hugely popular as to become vapid and overplayed, yet they were very important to modern music (especially indie).

I'd go so far, in terms of influence and the consistent quality of their music, to say that they're the Beatles of the contemporary era.

[Freaky Fender]

I think that they have reached "Nirvana" of Indie bands. Still being underground, yet being widely reconized. But not too mainstream. Sloppy enough so people still hate them. I also think that Steve Albini helped them with their sound. The instruments in Sufer Rosa were recorded with all the mics in drums, and all the amps turned up so it would bleed through. (minus some guitar and vocal overdubs)

[MKS]

I like the story that Black Francis recorded the guitar part and vocal for "Hey" from Doolittle in a closet. It had just the right ambience apparently...

[MKS]

Originally Posted by MKS

What's on your Pixies "Best of..." list?

C'mon... ?!

1/ Debaser
2/ Gigantic
3/ Something against you

[UnDoNe]

i saw the pixies the other day in scotland. truly amazing. hardly any talking in between songs and the perfect setlist. i was a fan before i saw them but now im going crazy for them. i think the reunion tour will have a big effect on their poularity. talking of which...has anyone heard the new song 'bam thwok'. its rocks

[Freaky Fender]

No Monkey Gone To Heaven?

No Where Is My Mind?

[MKS]

Originally Posted by Freaky Fender

No Monkey Gone To Heaven?
No Where Is My Mind?

Not in the top three... Next up would probably be La La Love You and Rock Music.

I'm a huge Pixies fan (no, really? ). I got into the Pixies about 3 months after they had just played at our university, and then had to wait about 2 years to see them play again in Glasgow. At that gig they had three support bands, came on, played Rock Music, Debaser and River Euphrates and during the last there was a huge surge in the crowd, the security barrier *broke* and the crowd surge caused part of the stage to collapse. End of gig. Bummer.

About 6 months later I saw play at the Leysin festival in Switzerland. A lovely combination of the set from Heidi and loud, snarling guitars and songs about mutilation, biblical characters and surfing. FANTASTIC. I was in the second row and sang/shouted my way through the whole gig.

[Mon Rominee]

Top Pixies songs... eesh.

I really like

Tony's Theme
Where is my mind?
Caribou
Debaser
Monkey gone to Heaven
Planet of Sound
Space
Dead (I LOVE this song)
Velouria
Rock music
Holiday

Oh crap, I could go all day.

[Edwcdc]

Ever since I heard Bone Machine way back in the day I was hooked. I think I was getting tired of the metal thing and was looking for some different and my brother turned me on to the Pixies. I don't think there's a Pixies song that I don't like. Right now I'm listening to Nimrods Son.

[Matt Till]

OOooOooOoOooOOooooooOOverrated.


Just my opinion though. I've only heard a handful of their songs and they seemed very generic to me.

[UnDoNe]

holiday song
nimrods son
gigantic
bone machine
something againt you
hey
gouge away
bam thwok
i bleed
caribou
wave of mutilation
levitate me


that should about do it, but they all rock

[Thedeadking]

" the bass player from the pixies is way better then the bassist from primus" Sorry I just love that movie. I dont really no anybody that knows the pixies besides a bunch of older guys. I liked what i heard.Their very important imo like mud honey from the way people talk about them

[Matt Till]

I look incredibly like the guy from Empire records who blows the company payroll.